Steel Fish 1934

Alexander Calder made this ‘Steel Fish’ sculpture, from who knows what or when. Look at how he gets color and shape to dance together, those floating lozenges and circles, it’s as if they’re in a conversation. There’s something so honest about Calder’s materials. You can see the way the metal is joined, how each piece connects. This isn’t about hiding the process; it’s about the joy of building, of making something move and breathe. I love the way the shapes catch the light, and how the shadows shift as it turns. That red semi-circle, for instance, feels both solid and ephemeral, like a memory half-formed. Calder reminds me a little of Joan Miró, someone else who wasn’t afraid of playful abstraction, although Calder’s using wire and balance, and Miró’s working with paint. Both seem to understand that art isn’t about answers, it’s about the questions we ask and the worlds we create while asking them.